How Trump's quiet holiday weekend fueled a viral death hoax

Speculation that President Trump was sick — or dead — took on a life of its own over Labor Day weekend, lighting up liberal feeds with conspiracy chatter that spread far beyond the fringe.On Tuesday, Trump stepped in front of the cameras and squashed the online frenzy.Why it matters: Baseless rumors about the 79-year-old president's health metastasized at warp speed, spawning millions of memes, TikToks, Google searches and "clues" about a supposed White House cover-up.They made it all the way to the Oval Office, where Trump was asked by a cheeky Fox News reporter: "How did you find out over the weekend that you were dead?"Trump, with a smirk, said he hadn't heard the rumors about his demise — but was "very active" over the long weekend doing interviews, playing golf and posting "poignant" messages on Truth Social.The big picture: Trump is the oldest president ever inaugurated — narrowly edging out his predecessor, President Biden, whose struggles with aging forced him to abandon his re-election campaign.The media's missteps in covering Biden's decline — laid bare after the Democratic nominee's disastrous debate against Trump in June 2024 — remain etched in the public conscience.Some liberal pundits see a double standard in how the press treats Trump's fitness, pointing to his meandering speeches, online outbursts and fictional anecdotes as evidence of similar decline.How we got here: Until Tuesday, Trump had gone six straight days without a major public appearance — his longest hiatus since taking office.Coupled with images of Trump's swollen ankles and a bruised hand — which still appeared to be discolored at Tuesday's event — the Labor Day lull quickly became fertile ground for conspiracy theories.Trump's claim on Truth Social Monday that he's "NEVER FELT BETTER IN MY LIFE" — plus a fleeting public appearance en route to golf — did little to tamp down the speculation. Trump's hand appeared discolored at Tuesday's press conference. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty ImagesBetween the lines: The White House said in July that Trump had been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, and that his bruises were the result of "frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin."Critics have challenged the White House physician's rosy assessment that Trump is otherwise in "excellent health," but there's little hard evidence to the contrary.For as much as Trump claims to despise the press, he has taken thousands of questions from reporters and driven countless chaotic news cycles with his marathon appearances.The other side: Trump does, however, have a record of obfuscation when it comes to his medical history.He was far more sick during his COVID hospitalization in October 2020 than publicly acknowledged, with some aides fearing he would need to be placed on a ventilator, according to the New York Times.His eccentric former doctor, Harold Bornstein, told CNN that Trump dictated the infamous 2015 letter in which he claimed Trump would "be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency."Trump has also mocked Biden's health problems — amplifying baseless conspiracy theories about Biden "body doubles" and accusing the former president of hiding his cancer diagnosis.That didn't stop Trump from lashing out Tuesday over the "crazy" rumors about his death or severe illness, which he falsely claimed were promoted by the "fake news" media."Last week I did numerous news conferences ... and then I didn't do any for two days and they said, 'There must be something wrong with him.' Biden wouldn't do them for months," Trump told reporters.The bottom line: In a political gerontocracy in which misinformation thrives and weakness is weaponized, health scares — real or imagined — come with the territory.

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